Millionaire Lessons From Gwyneth Paltrow
/From Hollywood actress to growing a blog from her kitchen table into a $250 million lifestyle brand, Gwyneth Paltrow shows that monetizing your passions is possible. In a big way!
How did she do it?
Keep reading the millionaire lessons we can all learn from Gwyneth Paltrow.
Lesson One: Start with a simple idea
Gwyneth Paltrow launched Goop with a simple idea - to share a curated list of recommendations. This idea was based on her love of travel and exquisite experiences. As an actress, she would live abroad for months at a time. She would dive into the local culture and ask the locals for recommendations after realizing that this was the best source for information. The concierge and travel books were not a great resource for elevated, unique experiences. She would keep a list of things she loved and share them with friends. Soon she became known within her friend circle as the person to go to for travel advice. This was the impetus of Goop. It started with a simple idea of sharing curated travel advice based on GP’s personal preferences.
Lesson Two: Grow slowly and with intention
Although it may seem like Goop has risen to success quickly, GP started the blog over ten years ago in September 2008. There have been growing pains, but the growth has been slow and with intention. GP didn’t attempt to monetize the site until several years after its launch from her kitchen table. In her interviews, she states she’s always had a clear vision for Goop and has allowed the vision to slowly evolve over time.
Lesson Three: Hyperfocus on a very specific target market
Goop’s audience fits into a very narrow demographic and psychographic box. It is a white woman who is either affluent, or aspires to be, and is on a committed path of self-indulgence masked as self-actualization. Introspection is her religion and enlightenment is welcomed as long as it is packaged in a self-soothing, coddling approach. The audience has no issue dropping $2,000 on a weekend wellness conference covering everything from crystal healing to financial tips to glowing skin treatments. Critics mock the audience as vapid, privileged, and out of touch. But do they mock it because they secretly wish they could be a part of it?
Lesson Four: Own your white privilege
It is no secret that GP was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. The daughter of Hollywood royalty, she grew up living the Gossip Girl life of private NY school education and butlers serving water with mint-infused ice cubes. Paltrow does not shy away from this fact. Instead, she owns it and infuses it within Goop and her personal brand. Sometimes she is self-deprecating and other times it is laid out there as nonchalantly as stating the sky is blue. While you may not have been raised like GP, you do have privileges that you can tap into and incorporate into your business.
Lesson Five: Seek out advice from anyone
From the CEO of Air Bnb, to Amazon, to health industry experts, Gwyneth has no issue saying that she does not have all the answers. and asking others for help. Beyond that, she is a woman who loves to be inspired and finds inspiration everywhere. This insatiable curiosity and willingness to weigh differing perspectives has led Goop to be in a league of its own.
Lesson Six: Use negative feedback and haters to grow your business
The vitriol hurled at Goop and Gwyneth Paltrow is eye-opening. But her response is where we should focus. In an interview, she shared that if she receives negative feedback that hurts her feelings it is either one of two things. A judgment that she is holding against herself or what the person said holds some truth. Either way, she needs to further examine it. If that isn’t an enlightened approach to life, I don’t know what is!
Lesson Seven: Seamlessly blend the sale of physical products with compelling content
In the last year or so, Goop has become more upfront with their sales tactics. However, in the beginning, and in most of their content, the products are seamlessly interwoven in beautiful story-telling that draws you in and invites you to purchase it. This is how I purchased the Goop Beauty GOOPGLOW overnight glow peel for $125. I was reading an article on the site about GP’s skincare routine and the way it was described made me want to buy all of the products. The whole marketing and sales process felt elegant, authentic and so me.
Lesson Eight: Be a culture shifter
GP has stated numerous times that she sees Goop as leading the culture in health and wellness. When she first introduced gluten-free diets to the world, people pounced on her saying she was a bad mom and threatened to call CPS. This experience, along with others, has led Paltrow to see that she is usually one to two years ahead of the curve. As she grows Goop, she has learned to be comfortable with the fact that sometimes society has to catch up with the Goop culture.
Lesson Nine: Integrate woo-woo with science
Crystal healing, energy work, talking to the dead, mushrooms are all practices that Goop claims will improve your overall health and well-being. Science- thumping folks vehemently disagree. In growing the Goop brand, GP has tried to find a way to integrate the two knowing that sometimes (back to lesson #8) the scientific processes need more time to vet the claims of the woo-woo.
Lesson Ten: Seek brands outside your industry for inspiration
Disney is the guiding light for GP’s vision of Goop. From the outside they may seem like two completely different companies, but Paltrow sees the connection in how they both generate significant revenue from brand partnerships and both are hyper-focused on creating exquisite experiences for their respective communities.
